Change in Timeline
by Eshlyn Kar
Summary: A turn of events leads to a different timeline in the Starwars galaxy. Includes many favorite characters from JA. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Chaela Sretep

_Visions are dangerous. The future is always in motion. It is fluid. Visions told you of what may be, not what will be. Sometimes you can stop the vision and sometimes intervening will create the vision. Sometimes intervening creates something more dangerous than the vision. I know I shouldn't go against my master's wishes but I will not allow the Galaxy to fall to the Sith. _

41 BBY

I ran as fast as my tired legs could carry me. Hoping, praying that I wasn't being followed. I was still reeling as to how I had come to be where I was. Running through the streets of some cesspool city, wearing nothing more than a small dress and no weapon on me. Ridiculous circumstances had led me here and I had foreseen none of it.

I finally slowed down, sensing that no one had learned of my escape. I was so cold. I sat down shivering in an alley, curled up, trying to keep from freezing to death. It was the middle of the night and the temperatures were dropping fast. I forced myself to get up. I needed some kind of shelter or clothing soon.

There, up ahead, relief. Someone was working beneath the bulkhead of their star fighter, and had left their heavy cloak on the ground a few feet away. They got up from under the ship and ran inside. I carefully snuck up and grabbed the cloak and snuck away.

Once out of sight I put the heavy cloak on my barely clad body with blessed relief. Something fell from the inner pocket onto the ground by my feet. I stooped down and picked it up. It was a lightsaber. I had stolen a lightsaber from a Jedi, the very people I was trying to help. Looking more closely at the weapon I suddenly recognized it. Flashes suddenly coursed through my mind and I grimaced in pain as the violent images followed one after another. My force-sight blazing familiar images of what was to come into my mind. Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber. I berated myself for stealing the cloak and for depriving a the Jedi of his much needed weapon.

I hadn't been looking where I was going and I was suddenly confronted by three very big men. All three were humans with blasters. I hoped they wouldn't give me any trouble and put the lightsaber back into the cloak. The men took one look at me and decided that I was worth hassling.

"Well look what we've got here Tulok. Are you lost little miss?" The first man asked.

"Hey you look familiar," the second, Tulok I assumed, stepped forward and I stepped back. There wasn't much hope of me outrunning them, so I didn't try, yet.

"I don't know why, I was just on my way home," I said quietly.

"Hey Bralo, check your data pad, I'm certain that's that runway slave," the first one, Bralo whipped out his data pad and showed the other two. Busted, I thought sourly to myself.

"Hey look guys, I don't want any trouble; I just need to get to home," I tried to reason with them but they didn't look like they believed me.

One of them came a lot closer than I would have liked. I tried running then but he grabbed my arm and stopped me in my tracks. I thought about fighting back, using Obi-Wan's lightsaber but my vows strictly forbade it. I was struggling to get loose of the huge man's grip when I felt another presence enter the alley behind us

"I don't think she wants to go with you," My head whisked around to the new voice. Obi-Wan!


	2. Chapter 2

Sixteen year old Obi-Wan Kenobi was having a crappy day. He and his master Qui-Gon had been sent to the space port Borgo Prime, on the outer rim to track down a bounty hunter who had stolen important information from a senator. The council had sent them on their wild goose hunt a few days before and they had tracked him to this squalid asteroid. And then the hunk of junk transport they had been given broke down on them, so Obi-Wan had spent the last four hours beneath the ship trying to get it ready for transport while Qui-Gon went after the bounty hunter alone, something Obi-Wan was very upset about. He got up from under the ship thinking that maybe this time he would have the ship up and running. He jumped inside the ship and tried starting it up. It shuttered to life and Obi-Wan was thankful that he had finally fixed the ship. He ran outside to grab his lightsaber and cloak and then to join Qui-Gon. To his utter dismay both were gone. Obi-Wan internally kicked himself. How could he be so stupid as to leave his lightsaber out in the open like that?

He contacted his master on his commlink and told Qui-Gon that he had finished fixing the ship.

"Good, I think I've finally gotten an idea of where Unim Tepp might be. Meet me at these coordinates," Obi-Wan was tempted to not tell his master about his lightsaber but knew that the bounty hunter Umin was dangerous.

"One more thing master, it seems as if someone has stolen my cloak, with my lightsaber inside."

"What? Obi-Wan, how could this happen? You'll have to find it before you can join me. Unim is far too dangerous to go up against unarmed. Track down the thief and get back your saber. Then you can join me. Obi-Wan, I sense a disturbance in the force. Something is not right here. Be careful," Qui-Gon turned off his comlink and Obi-Wan huffed in frustration. He hated leaving his master's side and go tramping around not focusing or helping in the investigation. He let his anger go and then tried to find the signature of his lightsaber in the force. After a few minutes deep concentration Obi-Wan was able to pinpoint the direction in which the thief had gone. He also noticed a strangely strong force signature coming from the thief themselves. Obi-Wan took off in the direction of the signature.

Not long after starting out Obi-Wan came across the thief. She was a tall silver humanoid with long thin dreadlocks tied at the nape of her neck. Her hair was two tone blonde, white and strawberry blonde. She was swamped in his robe with bare feet sticking out the bottom. She had several triangular tattoos on her face and they down her neck and was hidden by the cloak. Three large men were surrounding her and one of them had her by the arm and she was struggling to get loose.

"I don't think she wants to go with you," Obi-Wan stepped closer. He could tell that this girl needed help, even if she had stolen his lightsaber. Without his lightsaber and with the girl here it, would be a very difficult to outdo these men. He decided to give the force a try and tapped into the mind of the man holding the thief.

"You don't want her, she was just on her way home. You should let her go," Obi-Wan threw the suggestion into the brutes mind.

"We don't want her, we should let her go," The man let go of the thief's arm and she quickly backed away from them towards Obi-Wan. The other two men were looking confusedly at their partner and started to argue amongst themselves. The thief made eye contact with Obi-Wan at that moment. Her nearly black eyes meeting his. She suddenly grabbed her head and Obi-Wan felt a massive wave in the force coming from her. She squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees. Obi-Wan stood where he was in shock, as did the three men. The men were pulling out their blasters and Obi-Wan got ready to grab the thief and make a run, when all of a sudden the force warned Obi-Wan. He turned to his left and saw a Tracking droid aiming at him. Make that two tracking droids, Obi-Wan heard a buzzing behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

The two droids shot at him and Obi-Wan dodged as best he could. The three men at the end of the alley also started shooting as they ran away. Obi-Wan was really wishing he had his lightsaber as the shots barely missed him. He managed to jump off the side of a building and kick the first droid into the wall. It sputtered and died. Obi-Wan moved onto the second, dodging the laser fire sent his way. Obi-Wan noticed a second too late that there were in fact three droids, not two and saw too late that the hidden one had shot at him.

Obi-Wan tried his best to dodge but knew that it was going to hit him. He was surprised when instead of feeling a hot burn of being hit, he felt the solid body of the thief crash into him. She pushed his lightsaber into his hand as they collapsed to the ground. Obi-Wan rolled back to his feet and ignited the lightsaber, reflecting fire into the one droid. He used the building again to leap at the last droid, cutting it in half with a backhand swing. He landed near the thief and run up to her. She was still laying facedown the ground. Obi-Wan gently rolled her over and saw that she had been hit with the blast that had been meant for him.

Obi-Wan was trying to get a better look at her wound, her hand grasping her side. She had been hit mid-abdomen and her hand was firmly in place on the wound.

"Obi-Wan, I didn't mean to take your saber. I was only wanting your cloak," she said to him grimacing.

Obi-Wan looked at her strangely, how did she know his name?

"What did you need the cloak for?" he asked softly pulling her hand back from the wound. He then started folding back the corners of the tunic around the wound.

"I was cold," Obi-Wan was startled. He had been so annoyed with the thief and all she had wanted was some warmth.

"Well don't worry about it, lets just get you fixed up. You saved my life you know," Obi-Wan looked into her eyes again, but they were closed. "No, no, no, don't fall asleep. Hey, wake up," Obi-Wan patted her cheek softly and she opened her eyes again.

"Don't fall asleep okay, you need to stay conscious. Who were those men? What did they want? Hey, wake up," Obi-Wan tried to keep the thief awake but her injuries were starting to get the better of her. He picked her up and rushed back to the ship. There he would be able to treat her.

Once on the ship Obi-Wan put the young women down on the medical bay table and activated a medical droid to help him with treating her injuries. He commanded the droid to check her injury and bio readings with the scanner while he started to clean the wound and apply bacta.

"The wound is not very serious, but it appears that the blaster had been tainted with poison," the droid told Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan knew that he would be unable to treat something like that and contacted Qui-Gon.

"Obi-Wan, did you find your saber?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes master, but the thief who took it was injured in the process. Master I don't really have time to explain but while I was apprehending her, the thief that is, three seeker droids found me and opened fire. The thief threw herself in front of a bolt that was meant for me and was severely injured. Those droids were programmed to kill me master, someone is after us. The bolt that hit the thief was poisoned. Master, if I don't get her medical attention soon, she may die," Obi-Wan explained to his master.

Qui-Gon took a minute to get back to him. He needed his padawan but the thief had saved his padawan's life and it would be wrong to just let her die. There were no real medical centers here on the asteroid and Qui-Gon knew the ones that were would way overcharge and have no real medical personnel.

"These droids are disturbing news. Bring her back to the temple and get her treated, I will stay here and investigate the droids. I have a feeling that our bounty hunter may be behind this."

"Yes, master," Obi-Wan ran to the cockpit and started up the ship and took off. He punched in Coruscant's coordinates and then jumped into hyperspeed. He let the autopilot take control and then went back to the med-centre to check on his thief.

Obi-Wan was quite shocked at the difference in her skin color. Instead of her skin being the shimmering silver he had seen in the alley, it was now a gentle hue of gold. Ob-Wan gently checked the blaster wound and was surprised to see it was already healing. Ob-Wan looked up from his inspection to brilliant dark eyes gazing back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

I had been quite shocked to see Obi-Wan come to my rescue but there he was. He used a mind trick to get the man to let go of me and I quickly backed away from him and headed towards Obi. It was weird to see someone in flesh when I had only seen him in my mind for years. His auburn hair and blue-grey eyes were the exactly as I had pictured them but he was taller than I expected. He was in his traditional Jedi apparel except without the robe. He was quite tall and a little lanky but I could tell he was filling out.

His hand was hovering over the spot on his tool belt his lightsaber should have been and a stab of guilt hit me. Suddenly a blinding headache hit me and I fell to my knees as I saw what was about to unfold. I gasped in pain as I saw the three droids attacking Obi-Wan and him getting shot in my minds eye. I quickly threw aside the vision to see Obi-Wan smash a droid against the wall and the three men had run away. Obi-Wan was approaching the second droid and didn't see the third one sneaking up in the darkness. I quickly got up from my place on the ground and threw myself in-between the firing droid and Obi-Wan. My side burned as I pushed Obi-Wan's lightsaber into his hand. We crashed to the ground in a heap. I lay on the ground, unable to move, as I tried to catch my breath. I clutched at my burning side. Gentle hands were suddenly there turning me over and blue-grey eyes were borrowing into mine. I had never been shot before and the pain was unimaginable. I felt hot tears pouring out of the sides of my eyes. I become very scared right then that I wasn't going to make it.

"Obi-Wan, I didn't mean to take your saber. I was only wanting a cloak," I wanted him to know, didn't want him to think me a petty thief. He looked up from my wound to my face and a surprised expression on his face. He looked back at the wound and was folding the tunic back to see it better.

"What did you need the cloak for?" his voice was just as I had remembered it to be, soft and authoritative. It terrified me that I might never hear his voice again. I had finally found him and I wasn't about to lose him.

"I was cold," I said dimly. I was determined to live. I closed my eyes and started to put myself into a deep sleep, so I could concentrate on healing. Excellent healing abilities were a gift my species had. My mother was a Miraluka and my father a Firrerreo. I don't remember either of them but my master tells me about them from time to time. Both species were near-humans and I had inherited the best traits from both. I looked mostly human except for my slightly tinted skin, which was usually gold but turned silver when I was frightened or angry. I was adept at healing and the force was very strong in both species and strong in me. My canine teeth were slightly elongated but not nearly as long as pure Firrerreos. I could see in normal vision, ultraviolet and force sight. Sight was my gift, and not just physical. Ever since I was a little girl I could see visions of what was to come. This was apparently what prompted my parents to give me to a witch of Dathomir named Rell. Rell was also gifted with visions by the force. She was a part of the Singing Mountain Clan on the Planet of Dathomir and the clan had adopted me as one of their own. I had some of their traditional tattoos on my face and body. They were small, intricate and black. Rell had trained me in the ways of the Jedi and in the ways of the Witches. She had concentrated on teaching me how to control my visions. They were still rather unpredictable but I was getting better at getting through them with less pain. My visions weren't like most Jedi, they weren't shrouded and mystic, they were clear and bright. Sometimes I didn't know whether I was in reality or vision, the blinding pain in my head was usually the only difference. I was mostly unable to see my future but visions of Obi-Wan and several other Jedi were very common. Visions were tricky, they told you of what may be. Sometimes you can stop the vision and sometimes intervening will create the vision, so i always had to be careful. It was strange that even though I had never met Obi-Wan, I felt as if he were a dear friend.

Obi-Wan was trying to get me to wake up. I was too weak to tell him that this sleep was a good thing and shut my eyes as he was continuing to try to save my life.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up in a medical bay in a ship. Obi-Wan was there. I could feel that the blaster bolt was mostly healed but there was something else in my body.

"What's the diagnosis doc?" I asked teasingly. Obi-Wan sat back into a chair by the bed.

"Your wound is healing quite rapidly but the blaster was tainted with poison. I'm taking you to Coruscant, to the Jedi temple to get healing." The Jedi temple! I had seen it in so many of my visions that I felt as if I had grown up there.

"What's your name?" Obi-Wan asked me.

"Chae'la Sretep, from the Singing Mountain Clan of Dathomir."

"You're a witch of Dathomir?" Obi-Wan asked confused, "But you're not a human."

"I'm not native to Dathomir and I'm not a witch, I'm a Jedi. I was trained in the ways of Jedi by the witch Rell."

"How is that possible? How would a witch be able to train you as a Jedi?"

"Because she was given the Chu'unthor's record disks by a Jedi Master. She trained me using those and on the remains of the ship Chu'unthor," I said as Obi-Wan's eyes grew huge. I don't think he quite believed what he was hearing. The Chu'unthor had been a Jedi training centre for Jedi youth and had crashed landed on Dathomir years before. The Nightsisters, a sect of dark witches, which used the dark side of the force on Dathomir and were the enemies of my clan, had kept the Jedi from reclaiming the ship but Yoda had given my master Rell the record disks to keep safe.

"How did you know my name?" Obi-Wan locked eyes with me and I looked away. I had messed up and used his name. This was going to be an awkward conversation.

"I have visions of the future. Mostly of you and other Jedi. I have for years," I looked back at Obi-Wan. He looked skeptic. "You don't believe me? How else would I know your name?"

"You could be a stalker," Obi-Wan said point blank. I was going to have to think of something that I had seen that only Obi-Wan would know.

"You were given a river stone by Qui-Gon when you turned 13. You used it to escape having your mind wiped by the Syndicat on the Planet Phindar. You were disappointed with the gift at first but now you keep it in a pocket over your heart," I patted the spot in his tunic where I knew the riverstone was hidden.

"That's… disturbing," Obi-Wan didn't look entirely convinced but I think he was starting to come around. "Is that why you collapsed in the alley before the droids attacked?"

"Yes, I saw them shoot you. I couldn't let that happen. You are very important to the galaxy Obi-Wan," I looked at him seriously. At first he gave a short laugh and then looked at me, his humor fading.

"What have you foreseen for my future?" he asked unsure.

"I think I should talk with the council before I say too much, but you are instrumental to the future of the galaxy," I leaned back against the bed and stared at the ceiling above me. We sat in silence for a minute before Obi-Wan asked if I were hungry. I said yes and he went to grab some rations. I wanted so bad to tell Obi-Wan about Anakin and about everything to come but I had to talk to the council first.

Obi-Wan came back with some panna cakes. We ate in silence for a while, interestingly not awkward silence.

"This poison is sure slow acting isn't it?" I commented with my dry humor.

"Yeah, thankfully for us. We won't get to Coruscant for awhile yet."

"So why were those men after you?" Obi-Wan asked me curiously.

"I 'm wanted by Zebzeb the Hut. Back on my home planet my clan is at war with another clan. They are called the Nightsisters. A few weeks ago they attacked our clan and I was captured. They sold me into slavery and I was bought by Zebzeb. The disgusting worm wanted me to be a dancer for him, so I escaped. The men were looking for a quick buck by bringing me back to Zebzeb."

"If you have visions of the future why didn't you see that?"

"I don't control the visions, they come by their own violation."

We spent the next few hours talking. Obi-Wan told me about the temple and I told him about my home, my friends. I could feel the poison trying to work through my system. Starting at my wound and starting to travel down my legs, a stinging numbness was spreading through my body. I tried my hardest to slow it down but it was a resilient poison.

Obi-Wan suggested we get some sleep and headed off to his quarters. Being exhausted, I went to sleep right away; dark dreams haunting my sleep. The poison burning up into my chest.


	6. Chapter 6

Obi-Wan went into his quarters and lay on his sleeping couch. He was baffled at the person he had just met. Chae'la was quite the impossibility. It's not that visions were unheard of in the jedi, many jedi had them, it was the intensity and frequency of the visions that baffled him. Usually visions were of people close to you but Chae'la had continuous visions about people she had never met before. Obi-Wan was curious how much of his life Chae'la had seen. When they had been talking she had recognized most of his friends and many masters in his tales. She was even able to tell some of the stories for him. It was rather creepy, meeting someone who knew so much about you, when you know next to nothing about them. But Chae'la seemed like a nice enough person. The force was very strong around her but it was a gentle flow not an overwhelming power like other Jedi. She was a quiet personality but she had some spunk. Not overbearing but no push over. Her personality was much like her looks. She was beautiful, small featured and delicate, but strong muscles lined her body. Obi-Wan fell asleep in the middle of his thoughts and was woken up some time later by the medical droid.

"Sir, we have dropped out of hyperspace and have arrived at Coruscant. Oh and your patient seems to have stopped breathing, what do you require I do?" Obi-Wan sprang from the bed and ran to the medical bay. He checked her vitals and her heart was still beating softly but she had stopped breathing. He ordered the medical droid to put an oxygen mask on Chae'la and to help start her breathing. He ran to the cockpit to see he was almost at the temple, only a few minutes more. Obi-Wan veered through the space lanes of Coruscant to get to the temple. He had called ahead, before he went to sleep and let the masters know his situation, so when he got to the temple a medical team was waiting outside for him. Obi-Wan opened the hatch and grabbed Chae'la and carried her out to the medical team. They quickly took her to the medical wing and asked Obi-Wan to wait outside in the waiting room. His last glimpse of her was her silver hand hanging limply from the table.

Obi-Wan cursed himself for sleeping for so long and for not taking better care of the young woman. He flopped down on a chair outside the med bay and worriedly put his head in his hands. Soft footsteps and a tapping stick stopped in front of him.

"Know her master I did. Tough the Witches of Dathomir are. Worry for her you should not," Yoda came and sat beside Obi-wan.

"You knew Rell?"

"Gave her the Chu'unthor's record disks I did. A mystery this young woman is. Sense her we did not, though powerful she is."

"So you believe that she has visions of the future, our future?" _My future_, Obi-wan thought to himself.

"Very strong in the force she is. A strange power in her I sense. Talk to her myself first, before conviction of this will I have," Yoda said with quiet conviction. Yoda always had a way of settling Obi-Wan's fears and misgivings. Yoda waited with Obi-Wan until the healer came out a few hours later, to tell them Chae'la was going to be okay. Obi-Wan went to contact his master and to update him on what he had learned. Qui-Gon was somewhat disturbed and intrigued by the discovery of this extremely powerful ally.

"Do you want me to return to Borgo Prime to help with the investigation?"

"No padawan, the bounty hunter was apprehended this morning by the Hutt Jebjeb. Unim was apparently wanted by the Hutts for an assassination on a key family member. I got the information back and am on my way to Coruscant now. It seems as if he knew we were on his tail, he did send those droids after us."

"Alright master, I'll be waiting."

Following a suggestion from Yoda, Obi-Wan went back to his quarters to drop off his gear and then headed off to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat. He saw his friends Garen and Quinlon at a table and joined them.

"Obi-Wan, back so soon? How did your mission go?" Garen asked.

"Very, very unexpected."

Obi-Wan explained to them the last few days and the last few hours in particular. Both boys were shocked.

"When I left they had brought her into the recovery ward. Her wound was nearly healed it was just that poison."

"Wow, I've never heard of anything like that, the visions I mean. That's crazy" Quinlon said after a beat.

"Well Obi if she saved your life we had better go see her make sure she's alright and thank her for saving our buddy," Garen got up from the table with Quinlon and Obi-Wan following him. Obi-Wan grabbed a muja fruit for Chae'la.

Chae'la was awake when the three boys went to go check up on her. She smiled big and greeted all three of them by name, putting Quinlon and Garen a little on edge.

"I was right Obi, that is creepy," Quinlon said with a dashing smile, tossing Chae'la the fruit.

Chae'la grabbed the fruit and apologized, "I sometimes forget that it's a little disconcerting to have someone know you and not the other way around. I'll have to work on that," Chae'la said a little abashed.

"How you feeling?"

"Good, the poison was rather basic so they took care of it right away, no long term damage." Chae'la said eating the juicy fruit.

Just then Obi-Wan's commlink went off. His master was back from Borgo Prime. Obi-Wan excused himself from the group and took off to find his master. Garen and Quinlon stayed.

"So what are you planning on doing now?" Quinlon asked curiously.

"I'm to go before the council tomorrow. They are going to determine whether or not my visions are real."

"Are you nervous?" Garen asked sitting down in the chairs near Chae'la's cot.

"A little, not really. I've been waiting for this my entire life."

"Well Garen and I have been in front of the Grand Masters many times, you'll do fine. So what can you tell me about our future's?" Quinlon asked raising his eyebrows.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: Thanks to those who reviewed. :D

Finally some answers as to who this girl is and why she knows Obi-Wan.

-----------------

After being dismissed from the medical centre Chae'la went in search of the cafeteria. In her haste she cut a corner and crashed into the solid form of Qui-Gon Jinn. She smiled broadly at the master and greeted him.

"Chae'la I presume," Qui-Gon smiled knowingly. Obi-Wan had warned him of her habit to greet people by name.

"Yes sir," She said still smiling up at him.

"I have to thank you Chae'la for saving my padawan. How is it that you are up and running around? I thought that this morning you were on your death bed?" Qui-Gon questioned her.

"I am half Firrerreo," Chae'la explained. Qui-Gon was vaguely familiar with the species. It explained the gold skin and the healing abilities.

"I was just off to the caf to get something to eat, would you like to join me/show me the way?" Chae'la asked and Qui-Gon kindly agreed.

* * *

About an hour later, Chae'la stepped into the council room with Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, after being summoned from her meal in the caf. _The council wanted to debrief them all at the same time, _Chae'la guessed correctly.

After Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon both gave accounts of their mission it was her turn. Chae'la was able to greet each Master at the council by name. They showed her a list of other Jedi to see how many others she knew from her visions. She knew almost all. Next they debriefed her on the events she had seen in her visions. She would describe different events from Obi-Wan's and many other Jedi's lives from the past 15 years. She knew many events in the Jedi's near history in great detail. Some detail wasn't even in the notes the Jedi had about the missions.

"How old are you Chae'la?" Mace Windu asked.

"16, almost 17 standard years." Obi-Wan was startled; she seemed so much older than that.

"How do we know that you didn't just steal and memorize information?" Plo Koon asked.

"My master had very strict rules with me to never tell anyone about my visions until she okayed them, but one time I saw something too important to not tell the person in my vision. If you'll recall, approximately eight years ago the Jedi received an anonymous message concerning the Jedi apprentice Xanatos. The message warned the Jedi of what would occur on the plant Telos when Xanatos was sent there for his trials. It warned you that Xanatos would turn to the dark side and nearly become a Sith. I sent that message." The council looked at each other knowingly. The message had been quite the mystery. The message confirmed what Master Yoda feared about the youth Xanatos. Both Xanatos and Qui-Gon were showed the message. Xanatos was shocked that his arrogance and greed would turn him to the dark side and lead to the deaths and suffering of many innocent people. The shock was enough to humble the padawan and turn him from his dark path. It was a hard path with many potholes but Xanatos was now a knight with his own apprentice. He was still a very good friend to Qui-Gon and an incredible Jedi knight. Obi-Wan noticed how shocked Qui-Gon was beside him, though his exterior was passive, waves of shock and gratitude rolled off of him in the force.

"Impressive your knowledge is. Believe you we do, since no deceit is there in your story. Hear now, the council will, of what your intentions are," Yoda motioned with his hand for Chae'la to begin.

"Your graces, I humbly come before you to ask permission to join the Jedi…"

"You know that you are much too old to be trained," Master Windu interrupted Chae'la. Chae'la met his cool gaze and held it.

"I do not require training Master Jedi, that I have already acquired. The Dathomir Witch Rell taught me. She taught me using the Chu'unthor's knowledge."

"Impossible, the Chu'unthor's knowledge was lost with the ship," Eeth Koth shock his head disapprovingly.

"True this is not, gave the data to Rell, I did. Possible it is then that this woman was trained as a Jedi, as she has said," Yoda smiled at Chae'la and Chae'la continued on.

"Whether or not you accept me into your order is not of consequence. I have grave news for you masters that will be hard to hear. The Sith has returned." Chae'la stopped because gasps of outrage and disbelief came from the council. Obi-Wan was shocked and petrified at the idea of Sith in the galaxy. He could tell that Qui-Gon was also shocked.

Chae'la waited till the council addressed her again before continuing.

"Have the Sith really re-emerged? Do you know the identity and location of the Sith?" Plo Koon asked.

"No. I have only seen their faces and heard their Sith names. But there is hope in this dark time. The chosen one has been born." The Jedi were silenced instantly. "He has just this year been born on the planet Tatooine. A male human with extraordinary powers. He was born to a slave woman owned by Gardulla the Hutt. I propose a mission to get the child and bring him to the temple for training. For only he can stop the Sith I sense in our universe and bring balance to the force."

"Chae'la, tell us why your parents decided to give you to Rell and not to the Jedi to be trained?" Even Piell asked.

"One of my first visions was of the Sith. I was very young. I saw the Jedi and the Galactic republic caught in a fiery swarm of black flies that clouded the Jedi and controlled the republic. My parents chose to give me to Rell because they knew that there I would be free of the influence of the Sith. I also had a vision that were I ever to wield a lightsaber, I would die soon after. Both my parents were force sensitive and were able to discern the truth of my visions. My mother had met Rell as a young woman and they decided that Rell would be able to instruct me in my visions and protect me from the corruption of the Sith."

"Grave and heavy this news is. We will now convene. We will send for you when you are needed," Mace dismissed them with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

"Holy Space junk Chae'la, no one has ever been so calm like that before the council's scrutiny, at least no one I know," Obi-Wan exclaimed as they left the room.

"It's true young one, you did very well. I sense that the masters were impressed. Even Mace liked you," Qui-Gon smiled kindly at me and I smiled right back.

"Master, would you mind if I took Chae'la with me around the temple. I'm sure she'd love a tour."

"It's been my dream to see it with my own eyes since the first vision I had of it," Chae'la looked expectantly from Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon.

"Yes that should be alright," came the nod from Qui-Gon.

"Chae'la, one minute please," Qui-Gon stopped her with a hand on her elbow, "I need to thank you for intervening when you did with Xanatos, that message changed his life. Made him the great man he is today. I fear that without your intervention, things would be quite different," Qui-Gon said with a determined seriousness to his eyes.

Chae'la split into a huge grin and told Qui-Gon that it was her pleasure. Taking off to see the temple, Chae'la practically skipped down the hall with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan took Chae'la through the temple pointing out certain things and other things Chae'la pointed out. Her knowledge of the temple was impressive. By the time they reached the room of a thousand fountains, Chae'la was literally glowing in her excitement. Her skin had changed from a pale to shinning gold. Quite unexpectedly, in one of the gardens, Obi-Wan and Chae'la came across a young human girl sitting behind a tree crying. The two of them gingerly approached.

"What is wrong youngling?" Chae'la asked bending down to the Young one's level. She uncovered her eyes and explained that she was lost.

"What is your name?" Chae'la asked gently

"Oli Eromtew from the Wampa clan," Obi-Wan looked at the girl with sympathy, she couldn't be more than two years old. Chae'la had rocked back slightly when she heard the name and put her hand on Obi-Wan's arm to steady herself. After a moment Chae'la looked at the girl again.

"Well Obi-Wan here will take you to the crèche where you are supposed to be okay?" Chae'la smiled brilliantly at the young girl picking her up.

"I'll be here waiting for you," Chae'la told Obi-Wan with brimming tears in her eyes, as she handed Obi-Wan the young girl. Obi-Wan quite confused, agreed anyway and took Oli back to the crèche where the other younglings were. After a heartfelt thanks from the Jedi on duty Obi-Wan headed back to the garden. He could see Chae'la sitting under the same tree as the young girl.

Obi-Wan awkwardly sat beside a now weeping Chae'la. Obi-Wan kept quiet, knowing that Chae'la would talk when she was ready. Chae'la was quiet for a while, trying to get her emotions under control.

"My master always said that I had a gift, but it doesn't feel like a gift in circumstances like this. That little girl dies just before her sixth birthday. She has Kowt's disease. There is no cure to that Obi and it is a horrible death." Chae'la continued to cry for a little while but soon composed herself. Obi-Wan tried to offer her some comfort with his presence.

"There is no death, there is the force," Obi-Wan quoted the timeless code to Chae'la who nodded acceptingly. The two of them sat together for a while, watching the lights start to dim and as the artificial sunset started.

"It is immensely beautiful here. I used to dream about coming here when I was young. It feels like home." Chae'la glanced around the room locating all of the spots she had seen in her visions.

There at the top of waterfall was where Chae'la had seen the dark apprentice Bruck Chun fall to his death after a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan. In the lake near it was where Bant Eerin, Obi-Wan's close friend, was held captive. Chained to the bottom by Bruck and Xanatos, who in this vision had turned to the dark side, Bant had almost drowned. Xanatos had tried to destroy the temple with Bruck. Chae'la was happy to know that the event had never occurred. Xanatos had ended taking the young Bruck Chun as his apprentice, understanding and knowing the need for power and how to curb the desire. The two Jedi were quite close and both of them had been able to stave off the dark side together. The flowing water in the room shimmered and light bounced playfully off of the sparkling surface of the lake. Obi-Wan and Chae'la stayed at the lake until they were once again summoned by the Council.


	9. Chapter 9

Obi-Wan waited outside while Chae'la went in to see the council. All of them looked very serious, no one was smiling, not even Yoda. Chae'la tried her hardest not to turn silver and to remain my calm gold. That was one thing she hated about being a Firrerreo, her emotions were plain for everyone to see. It was very hard to keep gold sometimes.

"Decided we have, that the chosen one must be found. But uncertain are we whether you are to be a Jedi. Under probation you are. To Tatooine you shall go with Eeth Koth as your watcher," Master Yaddle told her with definitely.

"Masters, may I request that Master Jinn and padawan Kenobi accompany us? The fates of all three of them are very closely intertwined. It would be wrong were Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan not the ones to find the boy."

The masters looked at one another and conferred briefly amongst themselves.

"Go with you, the master padawan team will," Yoda announced.

* * *

Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure whether he was happy about this mission or not. He hadn't had any down time from his last mission but the council was very adamant that he and Qui-Gon go with Chae'la to get this force sensitive child.

Before leaving the Temple Qui-Gon had insisted that Chae'la be armed. She refused to use a lightsaber so they went to the temple arsenal so see what else she could use. She decided on a double-sided Halberd, which was common among the Witches of Dathomir. Chae'la got a strap to tie it to her back. She had gotten new clothes since Obi-Wan had last seen her. No longer in the Jedi traditional robes she had a maroon band across her chest and loose khaki cargo pants that were synched at her waist with a leather belt. The pants went only just past her knees where they were tied with leather bands. She had a pair of dark suspenders on top of her shirt. On top of that what a heavy leather jacket that went down to her mid thigh. She also had light leather boots which went up to her mid-calf. It certainly wasn't what most Jedi wore. All of her extensive and intricate tattoos were visible without her jacket as the band only covered the essentials on her torso. Her upper chest and stomach were covered in dramatic swirls and triangles. Her face only had two small tattoos under one eye and just below her jaw on her jugular. Most of the most dramatic tattooing was on her torso.

Coming back from his memory Obi-Wan tuned back in to the conversation around him. The four of them, including Eeth Koth, were all waiting out the ride to Tatooine in the main room of the ship. Eeth Koth was testing Chae'la in jedi knowledge with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan listening in.

Some time later.

"Why don't we take a break from the questions?" Qui-Gon said stretching as he stood up. Obi-Wan went to the helm to see where they were on their journey.

"Chae'la would you like to spar?" Qui-Gon asked nonchalantly. Chae'la smiled and grabbed her Halberd. She had been taught to use one since she was very young. It was the choice weapon of many of the women in her tribe. The men on Dathomir were only used for mating and labor, it was primarily the women who ran the culture and who fought and defended the tribe. Chae'la's Halberd was made from a rare material called Phrik, which was resistant to lightsabers and blaster shots. The two weapons could tangle and the phrik wouldn't melt.

The two warriors went to their respective corners and bowed before getting into their ready positions. Qui-Gon had his lightsaber loosely in his right hand by his side, where as Chae'la was crouching with the Halberd in her left hand behind her back and her right hand was out front. They both waited for the other to move first. Tired of waiting Chae'la sprang forward sweeping her halberd at the Jedi's chest. Qui-Gon stepped back to dodge her attack and had to spring to the side as Chae'la followed her swing with a thrust at his torso following with another sweep that Qui-Gon had to meet with his lightsaber. The two tangled for a minute then sprang away. Chae'la knew that Qui-Gon was much stronger than her; she would have to beat him with pure agility and outmaneuvering. She leapt from him as he tried to get the two weapons to lock. Qui-Gon was exceedingly strong, and though Chae'la was wiry, she lacked the physical strength needed to meet his attacks head on. Most of her form required diversions and dodging. Chae'la was very fast but once and awhile the two weapons would tangle and Chae'la was hard pressed to meet Qui-Gon's brute strength. Qui-Gon swept at her feet and Chae'la leapt into the air, flipping over his head. Qui-Gon had anticipated the attack and Chae'la just barely stopped his lightsaber as it came sweeping at her side. Chae'la had dueled many times with the women in her tribe and had defeated many of their enemies, but she had never fought a Jedi before. Chae'la could tell Qui-Gon's skill far exceeded hers, and he was merely playing the dual out. Had this been a real fight, Qui-Gon would have won easily. Eeth sat on the side, commenting from time to time but mostly just watched. The two danced for a while; trading blows until Obi-Wan came back into the room telling them they were within the hour of Tattooine. Eeth suggested the group continue to prepare for the mission with some mediation. The two duelists, sweaty and tired bowed to each other before going about their business.


	10. Chapter 10

Chae'la loved meditating. She was able to centre her mind and get ready for the mission ahead. She was able to have visions without the pain in meditation. She could concentrate on opening her mind to the force and it wouldn't have to barge in painfully. After settling into a comfortable position Chae'la started to work through her meditation tequniques. She saw familiar outcomes play through her mind. Hundreds of dead Jedi strewed through the temple halls, Anakin the chosen one now Darth Vader a hated and feared sith lord. Chae'la was determined to make sure this future did not come to pass. She was convinced that if Anakin were brought to the temple before he could learn to form attachments then he would not turn to the dark side.

Soon the ship was landing and Chae'la breathed in the hot dry air as the ramp was lowered. Qui-Gon led them to the palace where he knew Gardulla was. The hot air of the planet was intoxicating. Chae'la hated sand and heat. She enjoyed the trees and moderate climate of her home world. Eeth went up to the guard and requested an audience with the Hutt, telling him that they had business to discuss with him.

The guard let them in where they were greeted by a protocol droid who took them to Gardulla. A hutt's hovel was always disgusting, but this one was particularly rank. Chae'la stepped around a pile of what she could only assume was dead Gorg. Gardulla was lounging on a massive couch in a huge hall. The Hutt had many slaves ferrying food back and forth between her many guests. Upon seeing the four prospective clients Gardulla spoke to her droid in Huttese.

"Gardulla the great would like to know what sort of business four strangers have with her?" The droid translated for the Hutt.

"We are looking to buy a slave from the great Hutt," Qui-Gon spoke for the Jedi.

"I have many slaves, which in particular are you looking for?" the droid translated for the Hutt.

"A mother and her young son," Qui-Gon hoped there weren't too many slaves' here abouts with new babies.

"I have one of those. Mother and baby. But why do you want that?"

"Our purchase is our business. Now shall we speak of terms? We would like to see the slaves before we buy them," the Hutt agreed and told her foreman to show the strangers to the slaves quarters.

Chae'la could barely hold her excitement as they went into a small hut near the back of the complex. Shmi was fixing dinner over the small fire with a tiny baby strapped to her back.

"Shmi, these people are here to buy you and Ani. Look presentable," the foreman said quietly to Shmi. Shmi tried her best to keep the worried expression from her face and smiled.

"This is Shmi Skywalker and her son Anakin. Shmi is a very hard worker and Anakin is a very smart baby. Can even talk a little and already walk," the foreman boasted.

"We would like to talk to her alone please," Eeth said to the foreman. He looked at Shmi then took his leave.

"Hello Shmi, my name is Chae'la Sretep. This is Master's Koth and Jinn, and Qui-Gon's padawan Obi-Wan. It is my great honor to meet you," Chae'la said with a huge smile. Her genuine kindness shown through to Shmi and she relaxed somewhat.

"Shmi, would you like to have a seat, we have some things to discuss," Qui-Gon said quietly.

"Don't worry bout the soup, Obi-Wan will take care of it," Chae'la volunteered the very unhappy Obi-Wan.

Shmi put the baby down in a cradle near the table and the four of them had a seat, while Obi-Wan stayed in the kitchen with orders from Shmi on how to prepare the soup.

"Shmi, we are here about your son. We believe that he may be force sensitive," Qui-Gon spoke softly to Shmi trying to keep her from being frightened.

"Why? What if he is force sensitive?" Shmi questioned.

"If he is we would like to take him to the Jedi temple on Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi," Eeth explained.

Shmi thought for a minute and then got up and picked her son from the cradle. He was only nine months. He was bright, could already say three or four words and knew what he wanted. After a moment she gently handed the baby to Qui-Gon and then went to help Obi-Wan with the soup.

"I could feel his force presence from across the room. This one is certainly powerful," Eeth commented and Qui-Gon nodded. The baby cooed to him and Qui-Gon gave him his finger to suck on. Chae'la walked around the table and sat beside Qui-Gon. She couldn't believe that this bright-eyed baby would one day become one of the most feared men in the Universe. Chae'la accessed her force vision and nearly gasped at the beautiful image the baby was to behold. Shinning in tumultuous gold light the baby was remarkably strong in the force. Qui-Gon holding the infant was a calm brown green, while Eeth was stormy amber with blue. Chae'la reverted back to her normal vision and explained to the Jedi what she had seen and about her vision.

"My mother's people, the Miralukas, are born without eyes. They have force vision to make up for this physical setback. Though I was born with eyes, I was still gifted with this vision. Anakin is amazing to behold, I've never seen a force presence so pure and so strong."

After several minutes with Anakin and Chae'la's explanation of his aura, both Eeth and Qui-Gon were convinced of the child's extraordinary force presence. Shmi came back into the room with Obi-Wan and they handed out the soup. It had been watered down to make enough for everyone but it was still quite tasty. With Anakin safe in his crib once more, Shmi sat with the Jedi once more with an expectant look on her face.

"Your son is indeed very special. Very strong in the force," Qui-Gon told Shmi.

"So you will take him then?"

"Only if you want us to," Chae'la assured the young mother.

"You can offer him so much more than I ever could. I don't want my boy to grow up a slave. You have my permission to take Anakin and train him as a Jedi," Shmi said with strong conviction.

The rest of the meal was spent talking about what Anakin would be trained in and Shmi explained to the Jedi Anakin's origins.

"No father? That is quite the oddity," Eeth commented dryly.

"Understatement of the century," Obi-Wan said under his breath to Chae'la who giggled into her hands, trying to cover.

The foreman came in a few minutes later and told them that Gardulla wanted them. Qui-Gon and Eeth followed the foreman and told Obi-Wan and Chae'la to stay with Shmi and Anakin. The Jedi could feel a quiet unease in the force.


	11. Chapter 11

Obi-Wan was talking with Shmi while Chae'la played with Anakin, when Chae'la had another vision. She grabbed her head and caught the edge of the table with her other hand to keep herself standing. Obi-Wan walked over to her, waiting fearfully for the product of her vision. Her eyes suddenly flew open and she locked eyes with Obi-Wan.

"The hutt knows we are Jedi. The foreman listened in to our conversation. She is going to try to kill us and Anakin," Chae'la explained quickly.

"We've got to warn the masters," Obi-Wan grabbed his commlink and contacted Qui-Gon. It was a well-known fact that the Hutts hated the republic and especially the Jedi.

"We've got to go Shmi, quickly grab only what you need," Chae'la hurriedly helped Shmi pack. She only grabbed one bag and Shmi filled it with stuff for Anakin. She handed the pack to Obi-Wan and put Anakin in the sling.

"I can't go with you," Shmi said giving the sling with its precious cargo to Chae'la. "I have a chip in me, if I try to leave they'll blow it up. I'll put us all in danger. Anakin doesn't have one yet. Take care of my boy." Chae'la met Shmi's eyes and promised her that they would.

"Your boy will save the universe," Chae'la promised the mother, both with tears in their eyes.

"Hurry Chae'la, I can hear guards coming for us. The Masters are escaping and will cover our escape," Obi-Wan brought out his lightsaber and cut a hole in the back of the room to escape to the outside.

"Wait!" Shmi handed Chae'la a small pendant, "Give this to Anakin, and make sure he knew his mother loved him." Chae'la took the pendant and put it on her neck before following Obi-Wan out the improvised back exit. Obi-Wan lead them through the slave camp, trying to keep out of sight of slavers and guards. They were nearly out of the camp when they were spotted by a group of four guards. Blaster fire split the air and Obi-Wan sprang forward with his lightsaber to cover Chae'la. Chae'la whipped out her Halberd and took out a droid that came within reach. Half of the guards were human, half were droids. Obi-Wan took out the first two guards and Chae'la took out the other one, Anakin safely strapped to her back. The two young ones then ran as fast as they could towards their ship. They skidded around a corner and were confronted with ten droids. The two knew they were outnumbered but had nowhere to go. Qui-Gon and Eeth suddenly dropped from the rooftop behind the droids and started to cut them down. The four warriors soon destroyed all of the droids and made it to the ship. They took off with guards trying to shoot them down. Obi-Wan expertly piloted the ship away and blasted into hyperspace towards Coruscant.

"That was close. Is everyone alright?" Qui-Gon asked out of breath.

Everyone agreed that they were okay. Chae'la took Anakin from the sling and held him as he cried. He hadn't liked the sound blaster fire. She took off the pendant and dangled in the air above the infant. Anakin, distracted by the shining object, stopped crying and reached for the pendant. He grabbed it with his tiny fists and sucked on it, falling asleep. Chae'la stared at the tiny baby, silently promising him that she wouldn't let him fall to the dark side.


	12. Chapter 12

"You did very well back there young one. You fight very well and your vision helped keep us out of hot water," Eeth said coming over to Chae'la. She was in the main area playing with Anakin on the ground. The baby had slept for a little while but soon woke up complaining. Chae'la figured he was bored and grabbed some supply cans for him to play with. "I am going to suggest to the council that you be accepted into the order."

"Thank you Master Koth," Chae'la smiled up at the zabrak Jedi. Anakin getting frustrated that he wasn't getting paid enough attention to by the Jedi threw one of the cans at Chae'la, which bounced off her foot. She giggled and pushed it back to him. He decided he liked the game and continued to throw the cans at the young woman.

"Remarkable how advanced he is. He coordination is incredible for an infant," Qui-Gon said coming into the room.

"Yeah, lil' Ani is going to advance much faster than the other younglings his age. Aren't you, you little trouble maker," Chae'la giggled and tickled the little boy, who giggled with her. The giggling was infectious and Master Koth and Qui-Gon were soon smiling at the two being's antics.

Qui-Gon noticed Chae'la's skin glowing a bright gold that reminded him of his close friend Tahl. She also had gold skin. Tahl and him had grown up in the temple together. She had lost her sight a few years ago on a mission but she was still quite the formidable Jedi.

* * *

Soon the Jedi arrived at the temple. The Jedi went straight to the Jedi council, who were waiting for them. The debrief went well and Master Koth told the Jedi of his opinion that Chae'la be accepted into the order. The council then asked to see Anakin. Chae'la brought the little boy forward. Mace motioned for Chae'la to hand the boy to him. Anakin clung to Chae'la but with some smiles and soft words from Mace the boy was convinced to go to the master without too much fuss. The masters studied the boy silently for a while, before giving him back to Chae'la.

"Discus now we will. Wait outside for us to come to our conclusion you will," Yoda told the group that they would speak with them later.

Chae'la waited with Anakin for the council to decide their fate. Eeth was inside with the council and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon went on their own ways with promises to visit Chae'la after the council meeting.

After awhile the council doors opened and Chae'la with a sleeping Anakin, entered the room.

"We have reached a decision. Both you and Anakin will be accepted into the Jedi. You are much too young to become a Knight, so Master Koth has agreed to become your master," Mace Windu announced to a very happy Chae'la. Chae'la bowed to the masters and to Eeth in particular before leaving the room.

"So starts our new lives Ani. We're Jedi now!"

* * *

End

To be continued in sequel Golden Skin.

Tahl has been called to the planet New Absolon, but Qui Gon has had a vision of her death. So both Jedi head to the planet. But not all is what it seems to be. Will Obi Wan, Chae'la and Eeth be able to get there in time to save the two masters and stay out of the trap the planet has set for them?


End file.
